--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Grief is a private, internal thing. No…" description: "\"“Grief is a private, internal thing. No one can say their pain is worse than yours because they don't know. So maybe it's not good to compare. Maybe it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/anna-maxted-32201_grief_grief-is-a-private-internal-thing-no-one_666581.png" --- # Grief is a private, internal thing. No one can say their… ![“Grief is a private, internal thing. No one can say their pain is worse than yours because they don't know. So maybe it's not good to compare. Maybe it's better to talk to people who know you.” quote by Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/anna-maxted-32201_grief_grief-is-a-private-internal-thing-no-one_666581.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/anna-maxted-32201_grief_grief-is-a-private-internal-thing-no-one_666581.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/795/anna-maxted-32201_grief_grief-is-a-private-internal-thing-no-one_666581.png) > ““Grief is a private, internal thing. No one can say their pain is worse than yours because they don't know. So maybe it's not good to compare. Maybe it's better to talk to people who know you.”” [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Grief is deeply personal; comparing pain is unhelpful, so seek support from those who truly understand you. **In simple terms:** Grief is private; talk to those who know you. Key Takeaway Find empathy, not comparison. Themes grief empathy communication Mood reflective empathetic Type advice reflective When to use this quote - counseling sessions - support groups - family conversations - online forums - journaling Key Concepts psychology social support emotional intelligence Questions to Reflect On - Who can you confide in about your grief? - How does sharing with trusted people change your experience? A Different Perspective Comparing suffering can invalidate feelings and hinder healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Grief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) [Grief-support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief-support/) ## Related quotes > [“The moment a child leaves us, a parent’s heart feels different. Medically, this condition is called “broken heart syndrome,” but grieving parents knew this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-k-mccarty/the-moment-a-child-leaves-us-a-parent-s-heart-feels-different/) [Pam K. McCarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-k-mccarty/) > [It is a strange paradox that while the grief of football fans(and it is real grief) is private - we each have an individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-hornby/it-is-a-strange-paradox-that-while-the-grief-of-football-fans-and-it/) [Nick Hornby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-hornby/) > [“We share in grief and ritualize letting go and moving on, but at heart, all true grief is private. There”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-russell/we-share-in-grief-and-ritualize-letting-go-and-moving-on-but-at-heart/) Kirk Russell > [“When my mother died I learned that grief can be a very private thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-meade/when-my-mother-died-i-learned-that-grief-can-be-a-very-private-thing/) [Glenn Meade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-meade/) > [Why would you want to be be counseled in your grief? It's too private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/why-would-you-want-to-be-be-counseled-in-your-grief-it-s-too-private/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Do not be afraid that joy will make the pain worse; it is needed like the air we breathe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/goran-persson/do-not-be-afraid-that-joy-will-make-the-pain-worse-it-is-needed-like/) [Goran Persson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/goran-persson/) > [“As if that pain was worse than finding out she had deceived him. No, the wolves had nothing to do with this pain in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-dickerson/as-if-that-pain-was-worse-than-finding-out-she-had-deceived-him-no/) [Melanie Dickerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-dickerson/) > [“What poet was it who wrote there's no pain worse than the pain of a broken heart? Sentimental shit. He should have spent more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-abercrombie/what-poet-was-it-who-wrote-there-s-no-pain-worse-than-the-pain-of-a/) [joe abercrombie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-abercrombie/) > [The plan was to drink until the pain is over, But what's worse, the pain or the hangover?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/the-plan-was-to-drink-until-the-pain-is-over-but-what-s-worse-the/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [He is not coming back." And it hurt.It hurt until she was a mass of pain,worse than it had been when she thought he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lora-leigh/he-is-not-coming-back-and-it-hurt-it-hurt-until-she-was-a-mass-of/) [Lora Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lora-leigh/) > [“I can't bear the thought of oblivion, Asriel," she continued. "Sooner anything than that. I used to think pain would be worse – to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-can-t-bear-the-thought-of-oblivion-asriel-she-continued-sooner/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The guaranteed cure for heartbreak: find pain that’s much, much worse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/the-guaranteed-cure-for-heartbreak-find-pain-that-s-much-much-worse/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Sometimes pain is worse that heartbreak and pain is worse than sadness but pain is always cured by love cus love conquores all pain,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lala/sometimes-pain-is-worse-that-heartbreak-and-pain-is-worse-than/) [Lala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lala/) > [Never believe that animals suffer less than humans. Pain is the same for them that it is for us. Even worse, because they cannot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/never-believe-that-animals-suffer-less-than-humans-pain-is-the-same/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Sometimes, the anticipation of pain is worse than the pain itself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karpov-kinrade/sometimes-the-anticipation-of-pain-is-worse-than-the-pain-itself/) [Karpov Kinrade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karpov-kinrade/) ## More by Anna Maxted > [If you're happy inside you don't have to convince everyone else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/if-you-re-happy-inside-you-don-t-have-to-convince-everyone-else/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [When you're right there in the crisi, you'll do anything to make yourself feel better, distract yourself from the misery, deny reality, not matter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/when-you-re-right-there-in-the-crisi-you-ll-do-anything-to-make/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [But at least if you hint and are rejected, the rejection is blurable rather than blistering. Whereas if you ask outright and are refused,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/but-at-least-if-you-hint-and-are-rejected-the-rejection-is-blurable/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“Her cupboards are crammed with Cappuccino mix. No one needs Cappuccino mix. It's not diginified. She watched 'Super Size Me' and went straight to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/her-cupboards-are-crammed-with-cappuccino-mix-no-one-needs-cappuccino/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“I knew I wasn't second best for Tim (just as I knew that in real life, Jolene's flaming locks and eyes of emerald green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/i-knew-i-wasn-t-second-best-for-tim-just-as-i-knew-that-in-real-life/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“Curiosity was a mild irritant, but nothing in the face of fear like this. 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No matter how life-shattering they felt at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/when-i-look-back-on-my-life-s-greatest-traumas-i-see-that-each-one/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“Come on, Lizbet, that man adores you, he worships your body with his eyes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/come-on-lizbet-that-man-adores-you-he-worships-your-body-with-his-eyes/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“If I said that I couldn't live without Tom, it wouldn't be true. Of course I can live without him. It's just that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/if-i-said-that-i-couldn-t-live-without-tom-it-wouldn-t-be-true-of/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) > [“We sit in silence, drinking hot chocolate and contemplating the act that death is a monstrous affront to the living and shouldn't be allowed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-maxted/we-sit-in-silence-drinking-hot-chocolate-and-contemplating-the-act/) [Anna Maxted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) [Explore all 15 Anna Maxted quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-maxted/) ## More Grief quotes > [“...they had lived, they'd lived intensely. But no matter how deeply you live, it comes to this in the end: one of you will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-morton/they-had-lived-they-d-lived-intensely-but-no-matter-how-deeply-you/) [Brian Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-morton/) > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [... how much of our inner substance is it good for us to give to public griefs? The whole modern tendency to agonize over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bogan/how-much-of-our-inner-substance-is-it-good-for-us-to-give-to-public/) [Louise Bogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bogan/) > [You dont choose your life; it chooses you. Theres no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or griefs, you just accept them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/you-dont-choose-your-life-it-chooses-you-theres-no-point-asking-why/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [“When we learn to attribute meaning to the events in our lives, we connect with our Higher Purpose, Higher Wisdom, or Source; we become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/when-we-learn-to-attribute-meaning-to-the-events-in-our-lives-we/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [Only to have a grief equal to all these tears!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/only-to-have-a-grief-equal-to-all-these-tears/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [Nowadays most people wear black most of the time anyway: go to a literary party and one would imagine everyone there was in perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fay-weldon/nowadays-most-people-wear-black-most-of-the-time-anyway-go-to-a/) [Fay Weldon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fay-weldon/) > [Suppressed grief suffocates, it rages within the breast, and is forced to multiply its strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ovid/suppressed-grief-suffocates-it-rages-within-the-breast-and-is-forced/) [Ovid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ovid/) > [That Woman is in love with her own grief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/that-woman-is-in-love-with-her-own-grief/) [Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/) > [Short time seems long in sorrow's sharp sustaining.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/short-time-seems-long-in-sorrow-s-sharp-sustaining/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [These days grief seems like walking on a frozen river; most of the time he feels safe enough, but there is always that danger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/these-days-grief-seems-like-walking-on-a-frozen-river-most-of-the/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [“You've been my beacon of light in my storm of grief, and I don't know if I could live without you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-ashley/you-ve-been-my-beacon-of-light-in-my-storm-of-grief-and-i-don-t-know/) [Katie Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-ashley/) > [Ancient eyes had stared at me, filled with ancient grief. And something more. Something so alien and unexpected that I'd almost burst into tears.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/ancient-eyes-had-stared-at-me-filled-with-ancient-grief-and-something/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) [Browse all 8,012 Grief quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grief/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Grief is a private, internal thing. No one can say their pain is worse than yours because they don't know. So maybe it's not good to compare. 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